It seems to be a bit of a mantra but to reduce your waste you need to reduce your consumption. And then if do need to buy something see if you can get it vintage or second hand. Today we visited the Super Shed in Pages Rd (Christchurch) to see what they had to offer (and also to do a bit of vintage foraging). If you can’t make it to Christchurch see if your local District Council or community group runs a Re-Sell shed (or check out TradeMe and other second hand stores for bargains).
The Super Shed is super full of a mix of homewares, furniture, electronics, old suitcases, crockery, cutlery, books, plastic (lots of plastic), vacuum hoses and heads, bags, beds, bed heads, tools, garden ware (lots of great outside seating for the summer), personal entertainment and lighting. You do really have to pick through it to find the gems. I picked up a retro/industrial light shade (very utilitarian) for only $5 and I know others have picked up things like fake gilded mirrors, egg cups, glass jars, frames (that were repainted) and even placemats (the Super Shed has three bins just for placemats). Outside you can also find toilets, sinks, umbrellas and lots of plastic pots for gardening. As we were leaving the next customer was buying an old style push mower that only had a bit of rust on it and someone else had a bag of Retro Christmas decorations.
If you are willing to pick through some of the dross there are definitely bargains to be had. With some creativity you can even update old furniture just with new paint and handles. Worth a look before you buy new. And to think that all that is contained within the Super Shed was “thrown out” by someone. The items are pulled out of the waste to landfill stream and sold on to people in the community for a new life. We wonder where people thought their goods would go or if they even thought about it!
You can read more about the Super Shed here.
Here are a few photos from the visit:
Tags: homewares, landfill, second hand, SIFT, Super Shed, vintage, waste
